Scudetto Material?

Edinson Cavani - missing when needed

Milan 3 Napoli 0

People have believed for long that Napoli are in contention for the Scudetto. With three quarters of the season gone by, the club has managed to sustain it's challenge. This feat is highly commendable but one should not kid themselves by suggesting that the side from Naples can actually win the league. The match against Milan would be fundamentally important for Napoli's title ambitions. Mazzari had made no secret of that while he almost willfully sacrificed the Europe League to have his players best prepared for this game. Little would he have thought that his team would be on the receiving end of a 3-0 scoreline when they faced against the Mighty Milan.

Cassano started on the bench while Jankulovski took over from Antonini at left back. Lavezzi impatiently watched from the stands in his leather jacket. Napoli would sorely miss him in this game. Mark Van Bommel's passing and positioning is severely underrated. Sitting in the heart of midfield, he pulls the strings with such admirable authority, that one should wonder why is his footballing intelligence questioned all the time. He dictated this game from start to finish while Pato's pace was getting the better of Napoli's defense. With two naturally wide players at full back positions, Milan could afford the luxury of stretching the play. Flamini is another player at Milan who gets lesser credit than he deserves. His darting runs into the box when in attack are invaluable to the team which has lacked that spark from midfield for a few years now. He knows where to run and when to run, a quality less demonstrated in his tenure at Arsenal. Cavani continued to be starved of service through the night. Silva completely took him out of the game with his physicality and speed. The Brazilian bossed the Uruguayan through the night reducing him to a mere shadow. Milan's front men were woeful in the first half. They simply couldn't combine and kept misinterpreting runs and through balls. Ibrahimovic in particular endured a disappointing night.

The second half, Napoli self destructed. They had come to park the bus and hit Milan on the counter. They were given their chances but Milan's back-line held firm. Aronica was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box, which in my opinion was a fantastic call from Rocchi, the ref. Ibrahimovic stepped up and converted the penalty to give Milan the much deserved lead. Milan appeared a lot more confident after the goal, Pato in particular. Mascara couldn't replicate Lavezzi's influence on the game and was duly replaced by Zuniga as Boatang came on for Robinho. Jankulovski put in a more than credible performance for 72 minutes. His lack of match fitness called for a substitution and he shook hands with Emanuelson on his way out. Boatang is best in midfield but finds his goal scoring touch when playing behind the strikers. He scored the second for Milan by being at the right place at the right time. Game over for Napoli. Milan hit Napoli on the counter for the second goal while Napoli were pressing for the equalizer. The third goal wasn't very different because was born out of a counter move as well. Pato utilized his raw pace to full effect on the third combining it with a peach of a finish. Emanuelson stayed on the pitch for 20 minutes but he clearly shows why he isn't best suited at the back. He immediately became a weak link in the Milan defense but by then the damage was done.

The score flatters Milan. Napoli were out played yes, however it wasn't a master class performance from Milan. The second and third goals were born out of counter attacking moves with Napoli's players in the opposition half trying to level the scores. If Napoli had played their natural game the result could very well have been different. But they didn't approach it from the perspective of a Scudetto challenger and the inexperience of the side begs me to question their credentials to be winners come May end. Mazzari's mentality was horribly wrong and he will need his front men to come to his rescue if they want to make the most of the remainder of this season.

Milan - Ibrahimovic pen 49', Boatang 77', Pato 80'
Napoli - /